


one hundred seventy six

by queen_edmund_pevensie



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Dysfunctional Family, Family, Gen, Redemption, works better in theory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:26:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23936065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_edmund_pevensie/pseuds/queen_edmund_pevensie
Summary: It has been 198 days since the Avatar defeated his father, 190 since his coronation.
Relationships: Azula & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 82





	one hundred seventy six

This is his nightly vigil.  
No one else – not his uncle, not Katara, not Aang – knows what happened to her in the long run, except for him and the guards who bring her food and wash her hair. And every single night, in spite of everything she has done, Firelord Zuko sits outside his sister’s door and waits, patiently, to see if she will let him in. It has been 198 days since her arrest, 190 since his coronation, 176 since her trial, where she was found guilty, and then quietly pardoned, and led back into her childhood bedroom in the palace.  
She does not want to see him, not that Zuko was expecting her to. Not really. She is Azula, same as always, proud and self-reliant. Zuko offered to take her to see Father once, but she refused. That was 160 days ago, and he has not heard his sister’s voice since. His friends don’t ask about her, and if they did what would they say: she’s crazy, you don’t owe her anything, think about what she’s done to you.  
Zuko sighs, and leans his head against her door; Azula sits on the other side of it. He can hear her breath, sometimes he can even hear her cry quietly. They don’t understand, not even his uncle, who hasn’t even gone anywhere near the palace in weeks, let alone thought about seeing his own brother. She is all of the things people say about her. She’s worse. She’s manipulative and cruel and sadistic and self-involved. She’s hurt Zuko, she’s hurt the people Zuko cares about, but she is also his sister. She is also Ozai’s child, just like he is. He was given a chance, and so it is the least he can do to try to give her a chance too.  
It’s been 176 days of Zuko sitting on the floor outside her room, and she has not ever spoken to him, but Zuko is in no rush, not even tonight. “How are you?” he asks, just the way he does every night. Azula does not answer, even though he knows she is listening. “They tell me that you’re doing better.” Silence. “Oh!” he exclaims. “Happy birthday.” A soft shuffling on the other side of the door – possibly the sound of Azula pulling her knees closer to her chest. Zuko has learned to read her non-answers. “I know it’s tomorrow, but I’m not going to be around for a little while, but I didn’t want to forget.” He doesn’t expect Azula to say anything, and she doesn’t. “Well, normally I’d stay and talk longer, but I have an early start tomorrow. Have a nice birthday, Azula.”  
He stretches his legs and stands up.  
“How can I, trapped in here?”  
Her voice is sharp, accusatory. It still makes Zuko flinch, but he smiles to himself and turns back to her closed door. “You are not a prisoner, sister,” he reminds her. Which, while a secret, is true. He’s sure it’s a terrible idea, but he couldn’t do it. She keeps herself locked in her room. “You can leave whenever you like. If you want, you can go terrorize the Earth Kingdom.”  
He hears a huff of a disbelieving laugh. Zuko waits another moment.  
“Where are you going?” she asks, quietly, sounding much more like a girl of fifteen and less like his crazy sister.  
“I’m going to find Mom,” he says simply. “Will I see you when I get back?”  
Azula doesn’t answer. He doesn’t really expect her to. Two sentences in 176 days. A fluke? An improvement? It doesn’t matter. Azula doesn’t answer, but Zuko will be here when she is ready to.

**Author's Note:**

> Picture this: I'm almost 14, it's 2010, I have every single episode of Avatar: the Last Airbender saved on my DVR, I watch "The Beach" every single day for the entire summer, I do not interact with Avatar: the Last Airbender for the next ten years. I watch it in 8 days in the year 2020, I read a twitter thread about Zuko "redeeming" Azula, I lose my mind and write 600 words, and then I stop because it works better in theory. I don't want to see it. I just want to know that it happened. This is getting cross-posted to fanfiction.net, and I'll probably have a longer author's note there if you're interested.


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